Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Which version for a G4 Mac Mini?
- Thread starter ldc
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
If it were me, with that much RAM, I'd probably stick to 10.4.
With 1gb RAM(which I think the Mini can do) Leopard might be a little more doable.
The decision could also be governed by whether you need classic mode or not-if you do, then 10.4 is your best choice.
Actually, at the end of the day, if it were mine I'd probably pop a bigger hard drive into it, partition it, and install both.
With 1gb RAM(which I think the Mini can do) Leopard might be a little more doable.
The decision could also be governed by whether you need classic mode or not-if you do, then 10.4 is your best choice.
Actually, at the end of the day, if it were mine I'd probably pop a bigger hard drive into it, partition it, and install both.
Depends on what you are going to do. Personally i would run Tiger because its one of my favorite operating systems of all time.
Leopard on 512 MB of RAM really isn't all as bad as people make it out to be. Sure it would probably be better with a RAM upgrade, but on my 1.33 GHz iBook it was actually very usable. Erik tells me he runs Leopard on 256 MB and it runs fine! The only thing that I consider when it comes to making a OS decision is the GPU, really. Leopard loves eyecandy, like window shadows, and it taxes the GPU some. But you can make all sorts of adjustments to make Leopard just as fast as Tiger.
I guess I'll have to try them both. Maybe I could add in some RAM, I have lots of DDR modules around recycled from old PCs - will have to check if they are compatible though
By the way, I see some of you use SSDs on these old Macs, is it really worth it?
Thanks
By the way, I see some of you use SSDs on these old Macs, is it really worth it?
Thanks
I guess I'll have to try them both. Maybe I could add in some RAM, I have lots of DDR modules around recycled from old PCs - will have to check if they are compatible though
By the way, I see some of you use SSDs on these old Macs, is it really worth it?
Thanks
Yes! It is worth it if going from a 4200 or 5400 RPM hard drive. If you have a 7200 RPM the difference will be much less dramatic.
My SSD made a big difference when going from a 4200 RPM HDD. It boots much faster, and can load programs and apps very quickly, just a bounce or two!
Just remember that the G4 Minis (and all G4's, to my knowledge........) use PATA/IDE hard drives. You can get SSDs for PATA, but the speed bump isn't near what it is with SATA - plus they cost more and are harder to find. That said, I have every intention of dropping one in my iBook G4.
True, the IDE interface certainly does bottleneck the performance you might expect out of an SSD. But, it is still much faster than a stock drive!
Some of the KingSpec SSDs floating around on eBay are cheaper than traditional hard drives! I do not have experience with that brand though...Just remember that the G4 Minis (and all G4's, to my knowledge........) use PATA/IDE hard drives. You can get SSDs for PATA, but the speed bump isn't near what it is with SATA - plus they cost more and are harder to find. That said, I have every intention of dropping one in my iBook G4.
I have a KingSpec 32 GB in my PowerBook... I paid $44, and I could have gotten a 60 GB+ traditional hard drive for that money!
I have a KingSpec 32 GB in my PowerBook... I paid $44, and I could have gotten a 60 GB+ traditional hard drive for that money!
Is it a well worth it upgrade? Are you happy with KingSpec?
How long is the boot time?So far I am happy! It has lasted me thus far, and hopefully quite a while longer!
If you don't have any applications which require OS X 10.5 and you don't use any features which are only present in OS X 10.5 then OS X 10.4 is very good choice for single processor G4. Due to circumstances I ended up downgrading and I don't feel bad at all, TenFourFox and YouView still work.
Both operation systems are outdated so if you are really concerned about security then you don't use either of them. I have never ever ran into security problems when using OS X and for several years I've had zero problems with Windows as well (stopping illegal downloads of games helped....
)This is exactly what I'm going to do - a 32GB Kingspec. BTW, I think I may have a cheaper solution... the 1.8" Kingspec is the same width as the 2.5", just a little shorter. I reckon it would fit in the iBook's HDD bay, but only be screwed in by the front end screws - not a problem, since its an SSD and the little bit of movement that may occur wouldn't hurt it. You guys see any harm in that logic?
EDIT: Linky - http://www.ebay.com/itm/KingSpec-1-...?pt=US_Solid_State_Drives&hash=item3f3bc67fae
I vote for Tiger as well. I have newer machines to run modern software on so my Mac Mini G4 runs Tiger happily with period software.
I have a tricked-out 1.33GHz G4 mini as my home server, with 1GB of RAM and a 320GB SSD running Leopard, and it is a wonderful little machine. It really depends on your budget for upgrades on your mini; if you are leaving it stock, I would not go past Tiger. If you're willing to bump it to 1GB, then sure, go for Leopard and it'll run it like a little champ!
Leopard runs well on G4 Minis. Sadly, they never got a CoreImage capable GPU or the ability for more than 1GB of ram. One last thing to note is their hard drive. The stock hard drive is a very slow 4,200rpm drive. Once replaced with a newer 5,400rpm or 7,200rpm drive those old Minis perk up a lot.